Russia’s PD-8 Jet Engine Completes Certification Tests, Type Approval Expected

Overview

• Rostec and United Engine Corporation said Thursday the PD-8 finished its certification testing, with a type certificate expected soon.
• The test program logged 6,590 hours in total, including 1,449 hours on an Il-76LL flying laboratory and on SJ-100 prototype airframes.
• Trials covered natural icing flights in the Arkhangelsk region, water and bird ingestion, a fan-blade-off event, and an April hail simulation at UEC-Saturn’s open-air rig in Rybinsk.
• First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said SJ-100 deliveries with PD-8 engines could begin at the end of 2026 or in early 2027, subject to aircraft certification and the first customer handover.
• The PD-8 replaces the earlier French-Russian SaM146 after Western sanctions cut support, a domestic shift aimed at keeping the Superjet fleet in service.